Plans, led by East Hampshire District Council, to develop up to 5,500 new houses on Ministry of Defence (MoD) land and improve the town's facilities and infrastructure have now been incorporated into the proposed South East Plan - a Government document which shapes the framework for the development of the region up to 2016.
As part of the proposed plan, the town has been designated a Special Development Area, which could secure funding to help bring necessary infrastructure to the area.
If the proposed changes to the plan are agreed by the Government later this year, Whitehill and Bordon could see a large amount of funding and development, regardelss of whether the current eco-town bid is succssful.
Patrick Burridge, the district council's portfolio-holder for planning, said: "The South East Plan is a vital document which lays down the ground rules for development in the region.
"The fact that the needs of Whitehill and Bordon have been officially recognised in the plan – and also designated as a Special Development Area – is great news for the town's residents.
"It endorses, on a national level, our proposals to breathe life into the town while protecting the environment."
Ian Dowdle, the district council's portfolio holder for Whitehill and Bordon, said: "This is another important milestone towards delivering the Green Town Vision for Whitehill and Bordon.
"And what makes this even more significant is that there was cross-party support for Whitehill and Bordon's inclusion in the South East Plan.
"The plan also states that the housing allocation in Whitehill and Bordon is conditional on the MoD vacating land as expected. If the Army does not leave there will be no expectation to place those houses elsewhere in the district."
The inclusion of the Whitehill and Bordon Opportunity (the name given to the opportunity for growth following the departure of the Army in 2013) in the proposed South East Plan has been welcomed by councillors from all political parties as augmenting their work to transform the town.
However, councillors are seeking minor amendments to the policy. They urge that the number of houses planned for the town should be explicitly written in the document as "up to" 5,500, making it a maximum figure.
Councillors also called for the plan to incorporate improved facilities for the town centre and better transport to the town, including a feasibility study into a new rail link.
Adam Carew, the prospective Liberal Democrat MP for East Hampshire and a town, district and county councillor for Whitehill and Bordon, said: "I am delighted that the amendments were accepted with cross-party support and I am very grateful to the district council's chief executive Will Godfrey, Liberal Democrat councillors Zoya Faddy and Philip Drury and Conservative councillors Patrick Burridge and David Parkinson for their cross-party support.
"The key thing here is that the term 'up to' 5,500 houses, rather than the Government's 5,500 minimum, is used throughout the text (of the South East Plan). It is vitally important that local residents and their elected councillors are listened to in the shaping of our new town. We are bound to have political differences from time to time, but we all need to work together for the future of our town and the level of cross-party working yesterday showed East Hampshire at its best. We shall lobby hard for the Government inspector to include these additional safeguards in the South East Plan."
Councillors also voted to object to the South East Plan's proposal to remove strategic gaps - which, in Hampshire, provide a way of stopping towns and villages joining by spreading across important farming and amenity countryside.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) also expressed some reservations about some of the changes made to the plan.
CPRE Hampshire vice-chairman Hugh Sheppard said: "CPRE welcomes certain proposed changes, such as the importance of regional transport schemes and promoting sustainable travel.
"However, we believe that the plan is fundamentally flawed. There is a clear conflict between the stated aspirations for the natural environment and the dominance of economic criteria over housing targets, together with a marked reduction in environmental safeguards.
"Without a comprehensive understanding of what is meant by 'sustainability' the quality of life for us all will undoubtedly suffer."
The CPRE opposed the allocation of Whitehill and Bordon as a Strategic Development Area in the draft plan, on the basis that the town could be given eco-town status.
A spokesperson for the charity said: "A standard Strategic Development Area at Whitehill and Bordon, of the size proposed, would be quite unacceptable because of the impact on the East Hampshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the designated South Downs National Park and the wider countryside."
It is expected that the final plan will receive Government approval later this year.
To view the proposed plan, visit http://www.southeastplan.org.uk">www.southeastplan.org.uk.